There are Airbnbs sometimes located in places where there is either limited or no hotel availability. I stayed in one once because that Airbnb was the nearest place to stay to get to the Hoh Rainforest (Olympic National Park). People also stay in Airbns to have "unique" experiences in remote locations or for a longer period of time than what would be possible in a hotel without having to need to sublease an apartment/house. I don't know why people use them for vacation when there are hotels available. The experience at a hotel is far superior.

It wasn't like that in the early days, especially pre-IPO and before Airbnb turned into a business for wannabe landlords. In like 2010 Airbnb was magical for exploring a city like San Francisco. I remember paying like 50 bucks a night to stay in someone's beautiful house in the heart of the mission district. Hosts back then were genuinely good people that wanted to help travellers. It was a couch surfing kind of vibe and community. Nowadays all of that magic is long gone, and it's way more expensive.

Well, I'd say it's because people that travel in groups can get a better deal by booking an Airbnb instead of booking multiple rooms in a hotel, and it also gives them the benefit of having shared space (living room) and a kitchen.

It also usually makes sense for longer stays, say a 30-day stay where the Airbnb's usually grant a ~20-30% discount, which makes them cheaper than a hotel.

Other than that, I agree there's little reason to choose an Airbnb over a hotel.

A functioning kitchen is a necessity for some people -- and hard to come by in hotels. I have a very strong dislike of AirBnB, but for certain types of trips, they're hard to beat.

We host a small apartment. It is the same price as a hotel room in our city, and has a private yard and a full kitchen. It is in a residential neighborhood down a long driveway instead of on a busy street. It is a much better deal. If there is no value to the listing, you should definitely pass.

We are much cleaner and more reliable than any hotel I have ever stayed in, but I understand that no guest could know that beforehand given the problems with some hosts on the platform.

I guess for people here still remember the value proposition as being "cheaper than a hotel"

If I'm on vacation I want to relax in a house, not a hotel. Hotel's are for sleeping to me. I guess that's fine if you just get up and go do touristy things all day. Feels weird to me that people think of hotels and airbnbs as solving the same problem.

You get your own space that's not a cookie cutter box, like a hotel. Also, you generally stay in a part of town that is residential and not filled with other hotels and business. When it goes well, it feels like you really get to know the town you're visiting.

More expensive depends on location and type of accomodation. In London you can easily get a room on Airbnb for £50. Vs well over £100 for a hotel (I just looked and this is still the case). This has been the case in every city I’ve ever visited. I’d prefer to stay in hotels, but they’re simply too expensive for solo travellers.

Does the 50£ include cleaning fees and other bullshit?

That’s a good point, for a single night if you get stung with those it might work out the same cost. Usually I’m booking for 1-2 weeks so it’s negligible.

i used them for 9 weeks last year in 3 separate stays.

Each apartment was exactly as advertised and considerably, like a third or less, cheaper than the least expensive *d hotel around. The hosts were responsive and I had no troubles.

My travel costs would have doubled if I had to stay at a hotel, possibly more since hotels typically don't have kitchens.

I keep wondering this myself. I've never used one because I just don't get the appeal. I assumed people used it because it was cheap, and I didn't mind paying more for a hotel...but then saw it's even more expensive than a hotel!

Hotels pamper you, clean your room and towels daily, often have food and alcohol, often have shuttles to take you around, great locations, etc. AirBNB has none of that. I have to be missing something?

> clean your room and towels daily

This seems to be increasingly not the case between the pandemic & low unemployment (and the long-term trend towards running laundry less frequently to save on water), but I've always preferred to not have them in my room while I'm there.

The appeal for me is that I prefer to have my own kitchen to prepare most of my own meals while traveling. Cannot do that in a hotel room.

I think several years back, AirBnb was cheaper than hotels (but they've gotten more expensive over time).

The ones I was in last year were considerably cheaper than the hotels, other than the hotel rooms that were actually multi listed as Airbnb since there is a merging of those now...

It’s not really more expensive. Cheaper than a decent hotel usually. Way more hassle sure.

Mainly space, yard, privacy and especially useful if you have pets.